Alban Bushi (born 20 August 1973) is an
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
n professional
football coach and former player who is the current
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
of
Albania under-21 and
under-20 team. He is nicknamed "Loku".
During his playing career he played as a
striker. Bushi during his 19-year career has played with 12 different clubs in 6 different countries.
He started his career with capital club
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
where he had an impressive goal-per-game ratio; he also had three short spells on loan with Szegedi in Hungary,
FC Remscheid
FC Remscheid is a German association football club from Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia formed on 1 July 1990 out of the merger of ''BV Lüttringhausen'' and ''VfB Marathon Remscheid''.
History
Predecessor side ''Marathon'' was formed in 190 ...
in Germany and
Flamurtari Vlorë in Albania. He then went off to Greece to play for a short time at
Apollon Smyrni
Apollon Smyrnis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Απόλλων Σμύρνης), or in its full name Gymnasticos Syllogos Apollon Smyrnis ( el, links=no, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης, ''Gymnastics Club Apollon o ...
. Following that he enjoyed a decent time at Litex Lovech before spending the next four years in Turkey by representing Adanaspor, İstanbulspor, and Trabzonspor.
Bushi returned to Albania in summer of 2004 to play for one season with
Partizani Tirana
Futboll Klub Partizani, or FK Partizani for short, is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's curren ...
before returning to Greece, where he would spend the next five years at
Levadiakos
Levadiakos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Λεβαδειακός) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, afte ...
. At the end of his career, Bushi returned to Albania once again to represent Tirana, stating that it was a "moral debt" to end his career where it started. He retired from football in November 2010.
Bushi also had a successful international career, being part of
Albania national team for 12 years. With 14 goals, he was Albania's all-time leading top scorer from 2004 until
Erjon Bogdani overtook him in 2011. He retired from international football in 2007.
Club career
Bushi enjoyed a long playing career which has seen him play for 12 different clubs in six different countries.
He started off his career in Albania with
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
.
He made his professional debut for Tirana in the 1992–93 season and after spending two seasons with the club, he then moved to Hungary with
Szegedi. Soon after he was transferred in Germany to
FC Remscheid
FC Remscheid is a German association football club from Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia formed on 1 July 1990 out of the merger of ''BV Lüttringhausen'' and ''VfB Marathon Remscheid''.
History
Predecessor side ''Marathon'' was formed in 190 ...
.
After two years abroad, he made a return to Albania, playing for two years between Tirana and
Flamurtari Vlorë. He then moved to Greece signing for
Apollon Smyrni
Apollon Smyrnis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Απόλλων Σμύρνης), or in its full name Gymnasticos Syllogos Apollon Smyrnis ( el, links=no, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης, ''Gymnastics Club Apollon o ...
and right after a half season, he headed off to Bulgaria to join
Litex Lovech
Litex ( bg, Литекс) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Lovech, which currently competes in the Second League. The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya Sports Club.
The club's home ground is the Gradski Stadion ...
, where he became the first foreigner to captain the team. He spent two seasons in the
Bulgarian A Football Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
, winning them both.
After his spell in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
he moved to Turkey to play initially for
Adanaspor
Adanaspor is a Turkish professional football club based in Adana, currently performing at the TFF First League. The club is founded in 1954 by the middle-class merchants and artisans in response to the alienation within city's then most popular c ...
in the
1999–2000 1.Lig. Then he signed for fellow
1.Lig side
Istanbulspor. In his first season
2000–01 he scored 12 goals in 29 matches as İstanbulspor finished 12th. In the next season
2001–02 he played 16 games in where he scored four goals in the first-half before moving on loan to another
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...
team
Trabzonspor
Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...
with whom he played only five matches but unable to score. He was part of Trabzonspor for another half season in
2002–03 playing seven matches failing once again to score, before returning to Istanbulspor for the second half in which he played 14 matches managing 4 goals to contribute in team's 9th place. In the
2003–04 season Bushi played 21 games and scored 5 goals to help Istanbulspor avoid relegation with one point above 16th place
Bursaspor
Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği (), commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern.
In t ...
. He was part of the team in the first half of the
2004–05 Süper Lig
The 2004–05 Süper Lig was 47th edition of Turkish league and 4th edition of Turkish Super League. Fenerbahçe won their 16th title, being 3 points ahead Trabzonspor and 4 points ahead Galatasaray. In the final fixture, Diyarbakırspor were 1 ...
playing 16 matches scoring once before returning to Albania after many years playing abroad and signed with
Partizani Tirana
Futboll Klub Partizani, or FK Partizani for short, is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's curren ...
for the second half of the
2004–05 Albanian Superliga; he played 14 games and netted 5 goals. He then went off to Greece again to join
AE Levadiakos. In his first season
2005–06 Alpha Ethniki
The 2005–06 Alpha Ethniki was the 70th season of the highest football league of Greece and the last season under the name ''Alpha Ethniki'', before then was renamed to ''Super League Greece''. The season began on 27 August 2005 and ended on 13 ...
he played 22 matches often as a starter in which he scored 8 goals as Levadiakos however was relegated to
Beta Ethniki. After that he moved on loan at
Apollon Kalamarias
Apollon Kalamarias (Greek: Απόλλων Καλαμαριάς) is a Greek sport's club from Thessaloniki founded in 1926. The club is named after Apollo, the mythical Greek god and its colors are red and black.
History
When thousands of Pontic ...
playing in two seasons in the
Superleague Greece,
2006–07 and
2007–08. Then, he went back to
AE Levadiakos.
Bushi was returned after 13 years to Tirana, the club where his career began, signing on 31 August 2010. He was presented to the media alongside fellow veteran
Devi Muka. Although having offers from foreign teams, he felt that he had the moral debt to Tirana to end his career where he started it, a decision that earned Bushi the Swan d'Or from the
Albanian Football Association
The Albanian Football Association ( sq, Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. The association is based in Tirana, Albania. It organises the national football leagues of the Albanian Superliga, the F ...
in recognition of his service to Albanian football.
His first game in Albania after over 13 years came on 3 October 2010 in an away game against
Skënderbeu Korçë, where he came on as a substitute for
Pero Pejic in the 65th minute in a game which ended in a 2–1 loss for Bushi's side. He played his first match as a starter on 31 October against
Teuta Durrës
Teuta ( Illyrian: *''Teutana'', 'mistress of the people, queen'; grc, Τεύτα; lat, Teuta) was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC.
Following the death of her spouse Agr ...
, contributing in a 2–0 home win. He finished his final spell with Tirana by playing five league matches, three of them as a starter, failing to score.
On 23 November, he officially announced his
retirement
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
from football at the age of 37.
International career
Youth
Bushi was part of the
Albania U21 national team during the
1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
The 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification began in 1992 and finished in early 1994. The final tournament was held in March and April 1994 in France.
The 32 national teams were divided into six groups (four groups of 5 + two group ...
playing two games both against
Germany U21 on 17 November and 22 December 1992.
Senior
Bushi is a former
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
's all-time
top scorer with 14 goals until
Erjon Bogdani with his goal against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
in 2011 became the new record holder with 15. He made 67 appearances Albania, the tenth highest in the team's history.
Bushi scored on his international debut for Albania on 16 August 1995 against
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
at
Ta' Qali National Stadium
The National Stadium, locally also referred to as Ta' Qali, officially known as Grawnd Nazzjonali (Maltese language, Maltese for ''National Stadium''), is a stadium located in Ta' Qali, Malta. The stadium, which also contains the headquarters of t ...
, netting the temporary equalizer in the 72nd minute in an eventual 2–1 loss. He made his competitive debut on 15 November in the match against
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
for the
qualifiers of the
UEFA Euro 1996
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
, entering as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 home draw.
Managerial career
On 17 January 2012, Bushi was named as the
Albania national team manager, a role which the
Albanian Football Association
The Albanian Football Association ( sq, Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. The association is based in Tirana, Albania. It organises the national football leagues of the Albanian Superliga, the F ...
applied for the first time following suggestion of new arrived coach at Albania
Gianni De Biasi
Giovanni "Gianni" De Biasi (, sq, Xhovani "Xhani" De Biazi), born 16 June 1956 is an Italian football coach and former player. He holds dual Italian and Albanian citizenship. De Biasi was the first coach of the Albania national team to lead t ...
.
Bushi was named
Albania under-16 coach for their participation in the UEFA Development Tournament 2015 in May 2015. He won the tournament by winning all three matches.
Following naming of
Paolo Tramezzani
Paolo Tramezzani (born 30 July 1970) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a defender. He was most recently the manager of FC Sion.
Playing career
Tramezzani was born at Castelnovo ne' Monti in Emilia. At the age of n ...
as national team director, on 9 December 2016 Bushi was named as the
Albania under-21 manager. He won his first game with Albania U21 on 27 March 2017 against
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...
2–0. In collaboration with the Albanian Football Association, reborned the
under-20 side by assigning a
friendly versus
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
on 14 November 2017 at
David Petriashvili Stadium,
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...
, with Bushi as the coach at the same time along the under-21 national team.
Career statistics
Club
International
Managerial
Honours
Player
;Tirana
*
Albanian Superliga:
1996–97
;Litex Lovech
*
Bulgarian A Football Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
:
1997–98,
1998–99
Manager
;Albania U16
*UEFA Development Tournament: 2015
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bushi, Alban
1973 births
Living people
Footballers from Tirana
Albanian footballers
Association football forwards
Kategoria Superiore players
Super League Greece players
First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players
Süper Lig players
KF Tirana players
Szeged LC footballers
VfB Remscheid players
Flamurtari Vlorë players
Apollon Smyrnis F.C. players
PFC Litex Lovech players
Adanaspor footballers
İstanbulspor footballers
Trabzonspor footballers
FK Partizani Tirana players
Levadiakos F.C. players
Apollon Pontou FC players
Albania youth international footballers
Albania under-21 international footballers
Albania international footballers
Albania national under-21 football team managers
Albanian expatriate footballers
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Expatriate footballers in Hungary
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Expatriate footballers in Greece
Expatriate footballers in Bulgaria
Expatriate footballers in Turkey
Albanian football managers